IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITE

Choosing a Web Host
Selecting a web host can be tricky. Thousands of services charge countless fees, make all sorts of promises and raise seemingly endless questions. To help choose one that'll get the job done, here are key questions to ask:

    * How reliable is your service?
    * What kind of performance do you offer?
    * How good is your support?
    * What will it cost?
    * How do you handle security?
    * How much control do I have?
    * Can you handle the technology I'm using?

Actually comparing hosts can be difficult, so a good policy is to quietly set up an account and test the host--kick the tires, so to speak--for several weeks before announcing your presence to the world. Isn't that expensive? You bet, when setup fees are factored in. But more expensive--and embarrassing--is to make a big push for traffic, only to have your host drop the ball and leave you with cranky visitors who can't quite make it in. Better to know your host is operating smoothly before inviting guests to the party.
Use Web Analytics

Web analytics track the behavior of your site's visitors. What pages do they visit most? What are the popular paths through your Web site? On which pages do they leave? When customers visit your website, they want information and they want it now. If they can't find what they're looking for, they can get frustrated pretty quickly and leave, or worse--they could wind up looking to one of your competitors for what they need. Site-surfing patterns will show you what pages to modify to better serve the interests of your potential customers.

Web analytics solutions can also usually track search engine positioning, e-mail campaigns, banner ads and other promotional programs. Some solutions provide sales data in addition to visitor data. This enables you to enhance ad campaigns and the corresponding site pages for maximum sales, not just traffic.

WebTrends
http://www.webtrends.com/

SuperStats by Network Solutions
http://www.superstats.com/?mycSession=hTkzfOk%3Dl-5-%2522%2522_&mycSession_sig=2098891861

Security and Fraud Prevention
Process all credit card payments in real time using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology which encrypts all confidential information during the transmission and authorization of transactions. This can be part of your shopping cart program, or you can purchase the technology separately from companies like VeriSign.

You can also protect yourself using the MasterCard's card validation code 2 (CVC2) system and Visa's card verification value (CVV2) verification system. Visa and MasterCard have basically imprinted three-digit codes on all their cards to help determine whether a genuine card is being used in a transaction. These are especially helpful in online and phone orders since merchants don't have the card in front of them to run their magnetic strip through the system.

SiteSafe SSL Certificates by Network Solutions
http://www.networksolutions.com/SSL-certificates/index.jsp

Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks," the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.

As a marketing strategy for increasing a site's relevancy, SEO considers how search algorithms work and what people search for. SEO efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site. Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, and making sure that the content is easily indexed by search engines and also appeals to human visitors.

The acronym "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
Pay per click (PPC) is an advertising used on websites, advertising networks, and search engines where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser's website. Advertisers bid on keywords they believe their target market would type in the search bar when they are looking for a product or service. When a user types a keyword query matching the advertiser's keyword list, the advertiser's ad may appear on the search results page. These ads are called "sponsored links" or "sponsored ads" and appear next to, and sometimes, above the natural or organic results on the page. The advertiser pays only when the user clicks on the ad. Pay per click advertising is a search engine marketing technique.

Pay per click ads may also appear on content network websites. In this case, ad networks such as Google Adsense and Yahoo! Publisher Network attempt to provide ads that are relevant to the content of the page where they appear, and no search function is involved.